Substance Use & Gambling Concerns
Do I Have a Problem?
Remember when it was just about having fun? When you could take it or leave it? But lately, things have changed. Maybe you've noticed that your thoughts drift to your next drink or use more often than you'd like. The weekend doesn't feel like the weekend without it. You’re spending more time think and recovering from your last drink than you used to.
Questioning your substance use doesn't mean you're "an addict." It means you're self-aware enough to notice patterns in your life that might not be serving you.
You might be thinking, "I'm not sure it's bad enough for therapy." Or "I can handle this on my own." These are normal thoughts.
Some things we will focus on:
Explore your experiences, emotions, and patterns that contribute to use.
Identify triggers, understand urges, and develop tools to manage emotions without relying on substances.
Clarify your values and define what recovery means to you.
Reconnect with your goals, interests, and a sense of purpose.
Gambling
It often starts subtly. A few extra bets here, a bit more time on gambling apps there. But gradually, you might have noticed:
Your mind wanders to gambling during work or family time. You're spending more than you planned, trying to recoup losses. You've started borrowing money or using savings to gamble. The thrill isn't quite what it used to be, but you keep chasing it.
Gambling therapy is different from other forms of help because it gets to the root of why gambling has become so powerful in your life. You will understand:
What triggers your urges to gamble.
How your brain's reward system has been affected.
Why certain emotions or situations make gambling more tempting.
How to build new ways of coping with stress and excitement.
Recovery
You've done the work. You've maintained your sobriety, built a new life, and grown in ways you might never have imagined possible. But something's feels open – a need to understand your past differently, to process old experiences with new eyes, or to untangle parts of your story that still feel complicated.
Many people in recovery find themselves wanting to revisit their history, not because they're struggling with sobriety, but because they're ready to understand it more deeply. You’re noticing old memories surfacing with new meaning. Patterns in your current relationships that echo your past. Questions about who you were then and who you are now. A desire to integrate all parts of your story; before, during, and after .
This isn't about reopening old wounds. It's about examining your journey with the wisdom and stability you've earned through your recovery. Recovery therapy creates space for questions like:
How do I relate to my past self now?
What parts of my story still need processing?
How has my identity evolved through recovery?
What patterns from my using days still influence my relationships?